The People-the toilers of the world, the producers-comprise, to me, the
universe. They alone count. The rest are parasites, who have no right to
exist. But to the People belongs the earth-by right, if not in fact. To
make it so in fact, all means are justifiable; nay, advisable, even to
the point of taking life. The question of moral right in such matters
often agitated the revolutionary circles I used to frequent. I had
always taken the extreme view. The more radical the treatment, I held,
the quicker the cure. Society is a patient; sick constitutionally and
functionally. Surgical treatment is often imperative. The removal of a
tyrant is not merely justifiable; it is the highest duty of every true
revolutionist. Human life is, indeed, sacred and inviolate. But the
killing of a tyrant, of an enemy of the People, is in no way to be
considered as the taking of a life. A revolutionist would rather perish a
thousand times than be guilty of what is ordinarily called murder. In
truth, murder and Attentat' are to me opposite terms. To remove a tyrant
is an act of liberation, the giving of life and opportunity to an
oppressed people. True, the Cause often calls upon the revolutionist to
commit an unpleasant act; but it is the test of a true
revolutionist-nay, more, his pride-to sacrifice all merely human feeling
at the call of the People's Cause. If the latter demand his life, so
much the better.
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/berkman/prison/toc.html
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